Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Once I finally learned to roast cauliflower in the oven, I vowed never to cook it any other way.Then, 2008 happened. The year we learned to slice cauliflower into "steaks" and brown them on both sides. It was suddenly everywhere.What the hey. Thought I'd give it a try.So happens we had some spectacular local cauliflower heads (from Swanton), fresh, sweet, young and tender. And we had half a loaf of my primordial attempts at home-baked bread.Without even bothering to find a cauliflower steak recipe, I just waded in on my own. How hard could it be?Not hard. They even cooked faster than I anticipated (I was thinking I might have to finish the cooking in the oven after the initial pan-frying; nope!).When the cauliflower slices were hot and browned (and appropriately salted), I pulled them out and tossed bread slices into the same pan (using butter in both instances).And then we topped these "sandwiches" with a pseudo-remoulade made from a blend of dijon mustard, mayonnaise, a good shake of hot chile powder, and a pinch of dried dill. Thinned with a spoonful of cream (and the cream really adds some oomph).Now, I shouldn't rat out my husband. But he was crying. It was so good.

This reminds me of when I made a thanksgiving cauliflower 'turkey' for my vegan friend - a giant head of cauliflower, steamed gently first then slathered with a spice rub and roasted whole. She was so ecstatic when i brought it out of the oven, "carved" it and sprinkled sunflower seeds over it with flourish (its been a while since she had something "carved" at dinner). The cauliflower still had a nice toothsome quality to it. We served it with cranberry chutney, mashed sweet potatoes (made with cashew 'cream') topped with deep fried chiffonaded swiss chard, and sauteed green beans to round out the vegan friendly celebration. It was so much fun and even the omnivores didn't miss the meat and diary!

Did you see this NYTimes article. The local and local organic secret is completely out, and it is now "trendy". In the article, the author uses the term "lazy locavore" which I seem to be tending towards since I get my CSA delivered directly to my door.

Who She?

I live a couple of miles from the Marin County Civic Center Farmers' Market, which feeds my little blogging hobby. Hell, it feeds me, too.
Formerly employed, I'm now a bum. Happy bum. Tomato ranchin' bum.
But I'm still mad.